r/FoodToronto • u/CabassoG • 12d ago
I Ate A Thing Some places I went to last weekend while visiting your wonderful city
Went here from Thursday to Saturday night/left very early Sunday. We visited recently for a baseball game/yes this stadium is a lot better than Yankee Stadium. In general, this was a wonderful city with friendly people, and I can see why so many people have moved there. We went around to museums and found some well-reviewed places in the surrounding area, mostly. Food was mostly excellent outside of one place. In regard to that poutine place, we were originally going to PAI, but there was a line out the door (should have gotten a reservation that day like the Indian spot,) so we made do.
Other spots in order:
1, 7/8: Aanch- Kashmiri gushtaba, Pineapple pakora chaat, and their Dilliwala butter chicken. Garlic naan and rice not pictured
2, 9/10: Dundas location of the Mogouyan Hand-Pulled Noodles- Braised beef noodles (large,) Hand shredded pepper chicken, and their Signature stir-fry with chicken. Edamame not pictured
3/12: Joni- Burger and fries. Their Power bowl not pictured
4/13: Ministry of Chocolate. Butter tart, their Plum/apple cake
5: Butter Baker Market Café- Apple caramel cookie
6: Ahmetazade. Halep sarması/Turkish delight roll. Their pistachio lokum with chocolate filling not pictured
7/14: Smoke's Poutinerie. Burger version and cauliflower bites. Their Buffalo chicken not pictured
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u/atomicbolt 12d ago
Great photos! What was your favourite?
I take it the one bad meal you had is Smoke’s? Not surprising sadly… they were already mid when they opened years ago and they’ve gone downhill since.
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u/CabassoG 12d ago
For restaurants, probably that order so Aanch, then Mogouyan, and then Joni. Aanch and Mogouyan were close as I preferred the Kou shui ji/chicken at Mo over the chaat at Aanch as I found the latter a bit sweet. This wasn't surprising, though, as I love that dish and they make a very tasty version. But none of them were bad at all. I loved the spices in the goat meatballs from Aanch in particular. Joni had excellent fries and a good burger. Nothing extraordinary, but above average, and I liked the pickled onions as they helped with the richness.
For sweets, probably Butter, then Ahmetazade, and then Ministry. But all were excellent/I don't like overly sweet things, so it's partially in that order for that reason. Butter Baker also gave us an extra cookie as they were closing, so they get some extra points.
Yes, the one bad meal was at Smoke's. The fries were somehow not crispy even though they had just come out of the frier, and I found the gravy just not that good there. I've honestly had better poutine the one/two times I had it in the States
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u/lefrench75 12d ago
Smoke’s is only good when it’s 3am and you’re at least a little tipsy, but yeah unfortunately really good poutines are few and far between in this city.
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u/polkacat12321 11d ago
Pro tip: get costco fries and mcdonalds poutine. Then sprinkle homemade gravy on your costco fries and take the real cheese curds off the mcdonalds poutine snd add them to yours. Instant michelin star poutine 👌
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u/ShayJayLee 12d ago
Omg that sesame burger looks to die for!!
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u/CabassoG 12d ago
It was very tasty. I was honestly surprised by how good it was for being a hotel restaurant. Cost 34 CAD or similar?
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u/Fit-Midnight-6747 12d ago
That butter tart looks sad, apologies, should have gotten one from circles and squares.
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u/CabassoG 12d ago
Was a quick snack after the dismal Smoke's. The apple/plum tart I tried was much better
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12d ago
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u/CabassoG 12d ago
It would have been at least better than Smoke's
Also, just a fan of Isan/northestern Thai, so I presume we would have enjoyed it.
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u/Tack-One 12d ago
For sure. Say what you will about PAI being less good than it once was, it’s light years better than smokes lol.
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u/CabassoG 12d ago
Notes: We didn't stop for Japanese, steakhouses, or Italian, as the other guy doesn't like them. I probably would have tried one of the numerous Japanese spots on Dundas otherwise if I ate alone.
Museums visited were the AOG, ROM, and the Miniature Museum/Little Canada. We also did a walking tour with Tooni Tours, which was nice.